Hat-trick hero Carlos Tevez put his off-field problems to one side to send Manchester City motoring into the FA Cup semi-finals with a 5-0 win over Barnsley.

Tevez could face up to six months in prison after he was arrested on Thursday night on suspicion of driving whilst disqualified. The Argentina striker is due back at Macclesfield police station on Tuesday, but showed no sign of anxiety at the Etihad Stadium, putting in a man-of-the-match performance.

He scored three and also claimed two assists - converted by Aleksandar Kolarov and David Silva respectively - as City swatted Barnsley away with the minimum of fuss, equalling their biggest win of the season.

Edin Dzeko had already nodded a good chance over when Tevez struck for the first time. Yaya Toure made it with a flick over the Barnsley defence and David Silva was onto it in a flash, prodding the ball goalwards. Luke Steele managed to push the effort onto a post but the rebound fell kindly for Tevez, who had the easiest of tasks to finish.

And, just before the half-hour, City struck again, and once more it was a goal of classical efficiency. After a midfield skirmish, Dzeko threaded a superb pass through for Tevez, whose cutback rolled to the back of the area, from where Aleksandar Kolarov drove it home.

From then on it was just a question of how many the hosts would score, but Barnsley would be disappointed with their defending for City's next. Despite being surrounded by defenders not that far from the byline, Silva still managed to squeeze a pass to Tevez, who turned quickly before firing home from close-range.

City emerged for the second half with the same potency. Samir Nasri burst past former Blues trainee Kelvin Etuhu before finding Tevez, who delivered another expert finish. It completed his sixth hat-trick in England, and his fifth for City.

Steele needed to make an acrobatic save to deny Dzeko, who was not far off with an audacious chip. It was David Silva who got City's fifth, though, finishing at the second attempt after Steele had initially denied him.

Barnsley's on-loan Manchester United midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe tried to make an impression, first by upending Kolarov, then more positively, with a driving run through the City defence.

Costel Pantilimon, an ever-present in the Blues' cup run, was not to be denied, though, leaving Tunnicliffe to beat the ground in frustration. For former cricket umpire and Barnsley boy Dickie Bird it was painful viewing, although at least he escaped having to signal six when James Milner's ferocious shot crashed back off the post.